Jane Fonda hated sex symbol status

“Barbarella” legend Jane Fonda has never considered herself a sex symbol, insisting she has worked hard to be taken seriously as an actress.

Fonda became a global pin-up after landing the role of the futuristic siren in the 1968 cult classic.

She went on to win two Academy Awards for her more serious work and the actress admits she has always been baffled and annoyed by her status as a sexy star.

She tells Piers Morgan, “I think (‘Barbarella’) it’s a charming, camp movie, not very sexy, but at the time many young boys had their first experiences and I’m glad of that, I think it’s kind of cool that I aroused a lot of young men at that time but it’s pretty tame compared to what you see now…

“I’ve never thought of myself as a sex symbol. I don’t really care one way or another, I just like to work and it was fun to do that and I’m glad I went on to make movies like ‘Klute’ and ‘Coming Home’ when I began to produce and ‘On Golden Pond,’ I’m glad I didn’t get stuck on the ‘Barbarella’ mode.

“I wasn’t (happy with being a sex symbol) if you really want to know. ‘Barbarella’ did not do well at the box office, it’s become a cult film, but it was not a big deal at the time. After that I came back and did ‘They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?’ so that window of time when one could have slotted me in as a sex symbol didn’t really last, because at heart I’m a serious actress…

“I think being stuck with a label like sex symbol can be very limiting. If a man I care about thinks I’m sexy then great, but I don’t want to be labeled anything.”